To be honest, the sports car engine is a bit of a stretch. While it shares the same basic engine with early four-cylinder Triumph TR-series cars (and also some Morgans), here it’s in a lower state of tune. It would be fair to say that the Triumph engine, with its higher compression and dual SU carburetors, was the performance variant of the Vanguard engine. This engine is very closely related to the engine that Standard was also building for the Ferguson tractor.

As fitted to the Vanguard, the 2,088 cc four-cylinder produced 68 hp @ 4,200 rpm. This gave the Vanguard era- respectable performance with a 0-60 acceleration time of around 20 seconds, and a top speed of 85 mph. Fuel economy was 28/34 mpg (Imperial) which is roughly 23/28 mpg American. The air filter housing was sitting off to the side, exposing the single downdraft Solex carburetor. There were a significant number of cobwebs in the engine compartment.

A new Vanguard, with a unibody and designed in-house, replaced the old humpback Plymouth-looking version in 1955.

After three years, a re-fresh was in order. Hiring Vignale was probably in part a response to Pininfarina’s contract with BMC, who would completely redo their whole line. Giovanni Michelotti is forever linked to Triumph designs of the ’50s and ’60s, and among his most well-known are the sporty Spitfire/GT6, TR4 and Stag, as well as some 2000, 1300 and Dolomite saloons. The Standard Vanguard Vignale was the result of his first collaboration with Standard Triumph. As indicated by the Vignale in the name, Michelotti was still working for them at the time; he later struck out on his own with great success. His work on the Vanguard was limited to an update of the Vanguard Phase III, adding a new grille, increasing the windshield, new rear lights, and a few other touches.

Mechanically, it was mostly carryover from the Vanguard Phase III, which itself was a radical departure from the rather staid Phase I and Phase II: This meant unibody construction with beefy subframes on the same 102.5” wheelbase. Front suspension is independent SLA with coils and a leaf sprung live axle at the rear. Steering was recirculating-ball, and drums all around handled braking duty. Manual gearbox options were limited to a three-speed column shift or a four-speed with a floor-mounted shifter. Both transmissions were available with overdrive for more peaceful motorway driving. There also was an available automatic that was rarely specified. Our example has a three-speed, non-overdrive manual box.

Inside this Vignale are front and rear bench seats covered in Vynide, a cloth-backed, vinyl-like material. Depending on the market, cloth or leather could also be specified. The large, two-spoke steering wheel dominates the sparse dashboard. The Vanguard Vignale was actually reasonably well equipped for its day, coming with a standard heater and electric windshield washers. The driver’s side window was missing on this one, allowing years of exposure to bad weather damage the interior.

Up front, the grille is missing, but a quick inspection of the interior turned up a damaged grille whose stock chrome surround had been fitted with a home-made screen mesh. This car was rolling on a set of 15” rims, but there were only a handful of stock hubcaps in the trunk. Aside from those bits and some missing chrome headlight trim, the Vanguard looked very complete. The engine didn’t turn over by hand, so it might have become stuck from sitting for a decade or two. The license plate stickers were unreadable, so it’s hard to know exactly how long it’s been off the road.

This sedan shows how the grille would look normally. It is owned by one of our readers, and I’ll let him chime in with some details if he so wishes.

I’m told the Standard Vanguard Vignale was sold in Canada for only one year, which would make this a 1962 model–a little strange, since earlier Standards had sold in small but steady numbers in Canada (one of which occasionally turns up), and especially odd considering that production back in the UK wrapped up in 1961. The six cylinder-powered variant, the Standard Vanguard Six, was sold until 1963. I can’t find any listing of its sales numbers in Canada, but this has to be a fantastically rare car, as only 26,267 of all body styles were sold in all markets. The vast majority would have been sold in the UK, with only a trickle coming to Canada. Even across the pond, the estate body style is rare, and a left-hand drive estate like this one might well be close to unique.

In your little field of decrepit obscure little cars, this one may be the most appealing one yet. I knew nothing about these (as has been the case for most of your Storage Field Classics) but there is something about the looks of this one that makes me want one. It is a very attractive little wagon. I hope someone rescued it.

Yes – I believe the center bit stays still in the middle while the wheel turns. Neat design. Not sure what that lever is actually.

I had a set of those beefy winter rims for my Mercedes. I tossed them since they were almost forty years old. Usually they were installed only on the back unlike the common practice of winters all around these days.

Yes, the switch on the steering -wheel hub will be for turn signals. Several British cars had this arrangement before the side stalk became universal.

And speaking of the latter, British RHD cars always had the stalk on the right at first, i.e. on the opposite side to the hand used to change gear, whether the gear-shift was floor or column mounted. Export LHD versions moved the stalk to the left.

It was only in later years after European manufacturers started producing RHD versions of their cars with a left-side signal stalk in order to cut costs by not needing a different column switch arrangement for their smaller RHD market that some British manufacturers decided to follow suit and produce models with left-side signal stalks as well.

This is just about the most unlikely car I ever expected to see here. And gratifying, inasmuch as I knew extremely little about the Standard Vanguard; probably less than just about any other comparable Brit sedan line. I’m not sure I even would have recognized it right away. But now I know all about it!

A gentleman named Peter Garnier was Sports Editor of Autocar magazine in 1959/60, and he managed to persuade Standard to build him a Standard Ensign ( the stripped entry-level version of the Vanguard) with a pure TR motor. Not sure if they up-graded the brakes and suspension as well – they would have had a competitions department with access to goodies.

I am, as pointed out above, the owner of the grey ’62, Annabelle. According to the Vanguard Owners Club, all LHD Vanguards for 1962 were built to special order only; mine is reported to be the only LHD automatic out of a total production of 21 LHDs built

A few other points worthy of note. All the instrument clusters for the LHD were of the Phase III Vanguard design. That was the last Vanguard built with a symmetrical dashboard where the instrument binnacle could be easily mounted on either side. 1962 RHD market cars featured a dash with three round gauges in an engine-turned finish style dash.

Also, the body shell is that of the Luxury 6 even though these cars had the old wet liner 4. This makes the front floor profile different; the transmission hump is higher and wider. This meant (in my case) that I had to improvise the front carpets as neither the Luxury 6 (pedals wrong side) nor Vanguard (too short) would fit. I’d also point out that the hood release remains on the far right side of the car, meaning the passenger has to release it, or you need to walk around the car.

Any other questions feel free I’m happy to answer; through necessity I’ve become something of a self-taught expert on these rare little cars…

I am currently resurrecting a 1963 Vanguard 6 Estate, in San Diego, CA. How this old gal got here is unknown to me, but finding parts for one of these is pretty much impossible. luckily, mine is almost complete. I know you said yours is automatic, but have you ever seen a manual one? I’m missing the slave cylinder and have been unable to find what it looks like so I can find one for me.

Sorry for the delay getting back to you on this, I’ve been on vacation. I have seen one manual car, I had one from the first year of this body style (1955). Unfortunately it’s long gone. I’d suggest getting in touch with the Australian Vanguard club, they are a good bunch and seem to really enjoy helping those of us in North America. They sent me a bunch of parts for free (I just paid the shipping), wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see them help you out as well.

We got Vanguards new here in NZ too. My Grandparents had a Phase I back in the 1950s (they went from that to a 1959 Plymouth Belvedere!). I find the Phase I and II styling a little weird, but have a real soft spot for the Phase III/Vignale/6. The 6 has basically the same engine as the Triumph 2000 sedan, and they have a fantastic exhaust note when lightly modified!

Although there are still quite a few Phase III onwards Vanguards still around down here, they’re all sedans or (factory) utes – I can’t remember the last time I saw a wagon, so this article was especially enjoyable 🙂

In 1961 Standard Triumph was taken over by the Leyland truck company, and they determined that “Standard” wasn’t a very good brand name for the 1960s, so they concentrated on the “Triumph” brand, and the Vanguard was replaced by the Michelotti-styled Triumph 2000 and 2.5 PI ( which became Triumph 2500 when sold without injection ).

There’s a surprising American connexion – in addition to Carl Otto the Phase 3 designer. About 1960, the dated and stodgy-imaged Vanguard was absolutely dieing in the showrooms, and the Zebu replacement project was becalmed. Out of the blue, American Motors offered the Rambler American body shell for an inexpensive updating of the Vanguard. This was presumably for the Luxury Six. Apparently one Vangler – or was it a Ramguard or a Triumpler – was constructed but nothing came of it. Fortunately Standard Triumph moved onto the much more forward-looking Barb project (pictured) that became the 2000. Does it look like a NSU Ro80 to you too?

Plenty of these in Aussie and NZ very rugged old beasts they survive harsh treatment on bad roads ok but rust usually takes over. The engine is the same as the fergy tractor but with bigger valves and an automatic advance distributor. A friend has a very early 1947 Fergy with this engine the Vanguard did not appear until 48.

The Vanguard and its stripped entry- level sibling the Ensign were pretty common in the UK in the 60s but as someone has mentioned the name had come to mean basic rather than a standard to be aimed for and the cars had a dour agricultural image and sales were not spectacular..Starting in 1959 the company’s new small car was branded as the Triumph Herald and by 1964 the Vanguard itself gave way to the Triumph 2000.Triumph had a much more up market image and it paid off.The rarest of the Vanguard family was the Sportsman which came with two tone paint a tuned engine and a traditional upright grille anyone seen a Sportsman recently ?? I doubt it..

Yes, I have seen a ’56 Sportsman recently – last week in fact! Not in person sadly, but for sale on line. It sold last Monday for NZ$2,600, a very good price for such a rare car. As always, there’s an example still here somewhere of pretty much every make/model of car ever made! http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=581835589

Wish I had known about that Sportsman, at that price it wasn’t sold it was given away, even in 2013! Only about 960 Sportsmans were ever made, and I am desperate to get hold of one here in the UK or anywhere. Attached a picture of my 1961 Estate Car.